Strategic Asia 2007-08: Domestic Political Change and Grand Strategy

About Strategic Asia

About Strategic Asia The Strategic Asia Program at The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) is a major ongoing research initiative that draws together top Asia studies specialists and international relations experts to assess the changing strategic environment in the Asia-Pacific. The Strategic Asia Program transcends traditional estimates of military balance by incorporating economic, political, and demographic data and by focusing on the strategies and perceptions that drive policy in the region. The program’s integrated set of products and activities includes: • an annual edited volume written by leading specialists • an executive summary tailored for public and private sector decisionmakers and strategic planners • an online database that tracks key strategic indicators • briefings and presentations for government, business, and academe that are designed to foster in-depth discussions revolving around major, relevant public issues Special briefings are held for key committees of Congress and the executive branch, other government agencies, and the intelligence community. The principal audiences for the program’s research findings are the U.S. policymaking and research communities, the media, the business community, and academe. The Strategic Asia Program’s online database contains an unprecedented selection of strategic indicators—economic, financial, military, technological, energy, political, and demographic—for all of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The database, together with previous volumes and executive summaries, are hosted on the Strategic Asia website at http://strategicasia.nbr.org. 442 • Strategic Asia 2007–08 Previous Strategic Asia Volumes Over the past seven years this series has addressed how Asia is increasingly functioning as a zone of strategic interaction and contending with an uncertain balance of power. Strategic Asia 2001–02: Power and Purpose established a baseline assessment for understanding the strategies and interactions of the major states within the region—notably China, India, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. Strategic Asia 2002–03: Asian Aftershocks drew upon this baseline to analyze the changes in these states’ grand strategies and relationships in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Strategic Asia 2003–04: Fragility and Crisis examined the fragile balance of power in Asia, drawing out the key domestic political and economic trends in Asian states supporting or undermining this tenuous equilibrium. Building upon established themes, Strategic Asia 2004–05: Confronting Terrorism in the Pursuit of Power explored the effect of the U.S.-led war on terrorism on the political, economic, social, and strategic transformations underway in Asia. Strategic Asia 2005–06: Military Modernization in an Era of Uncertainty appraised the progress of Asian military modernization programs and developed a touchstone to evaluate future military changes to the balance of power. Strategic Asia 2006–07: Trade, Interdependence, and Security examined how increasing levels of trade and changing trade relationships are affecting the balance of power and security in Asia. Research and Management Team The Strategic Asia research team consists of leading international relations and security specialists from universities and research institutions across the United States and around the world. A new research team is selected each year. The research team for 2007 is led by Ashley J. Tellis (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace). General John Shalikashvili (former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), Aaron Friedberg (Princeton University and Strategic Asia’s founding research director), and Richard Ellings (The National Bureau of Asian Research and Strategic Asia’s founding program director) serve as senior advisors. Advising the program is the executive committee, composed of Herbert Ellison (University of Washington), Donald Emmerson (Stanford University), Francine Frankel (University of Pennsylvania), Mark Hamilton (University of Alaska), Kenneth Pyle (University of Washington), Richard Samuels (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Robert Scalapino (University of CaliforniaBerkeley ), Enders Wimbush (Hudson Institute), and William Wohlforth (Dartmouth College). About Strategic Asia • 443 The Strategic Asia Program depends on a diverse funding base of foundations, government, and corporations, supplemented by income from publication sales. Support for the program in 2007 comes from the GE Foundation, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and National Nuclear Security Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy. Attribution Readers of Strategic Asia reports and visitors to the Strategic Asia website may use data, charts, graphs, and quotes from these sources without requesting permission from The National Bureau of Asian Research on the condition that they cite NBR and the appropriate primary source in any published work. No report, chapter, separate study, extensive text, or any other substantial part of the Strategic Asia Program’s products may be reproduced without the written...